Development of Forward Error-Correcting Multi-Array Biosensor Based on Molecular Bio-Wires

本项目致力于研制一种基于分子生物导线的前向纠错多阵列生物传感器。基于PI先前在电导免疫传感器方面的工作，他们建议使用导电聚苯胺作为传感器来构建分子开关网络，以检测抗原与其目标抗体之间的结合事件。生物传感器将利用通过网络的分析物的横向流动来选择性地触发分子开关，该分子开关将被布置成奇偶校验阵列。因此，转换后的电信号将被用来解码分析中多个病原体的存在/不存在。智能优点：提出了集成差错控制编码来提高多阵列生物传感器的检测率。这项拟议的研究将调查抗体的交叉反应性和非特异性对前向纠错的影响。这可能导致新的解码算法，可以补偿生物传感器阵列中的伪影，还可以减少分析物中pH变化造成的共模效应。通过在硅中实施解码器，他们计划展示基于生物硅电子的混合系统，其中生物电路的高灵敏度与硅电路的精确计算相结合。广泛影响：拟议的多阵列生物传感器将在医疗诊断和国土安全应用领域产生更广泛的影响，在这些领域，快速可靠地检测生物样本中的病原体至关重要。将生物传感器与硅芯片相结合，可能会产生可用于无处不在的传感的一次性智能生物传感器标签。这项建议的多学科性质将为培养生物系统和电气工程领域的本科生和研究生提供一个理想的途径。拟议项目的内容将用于编写生物电子学领域的新教材，并纳入课堂教学。

This project focuses on developing a forward-error-correcting multi-array biosensor based on molecular bio-wires. Based on the PIs previous work on conductometric immunosensors they propose to build a network of molecular switches using conductive polyaniline as a transducer for detecting binding events between antigens and their target antibodies. The biosensor will utilize a lateral flow of analyte through the network to selectively trigger molecular switches that will be arranged to form a parity-check array. Thus the transduced electrical signal will be used to decode the presence/absence of multiple pathogens in the analyte.Intellectual Merit: The integration of error-control coding to improve the detection rate of a multi-array biosensors is proposed. The proposed research will investigate effects of cross-reactivity and non-specificity of antibodies on forward error correction. This could lead to novel decoding algorithms that could compensate for artifacts in the biosensor array and also reduce common-mode effects due to pH variations in the analyte. By implementing decoders in silicon they plan to demonstrate a hybrid-system based on bio-silicon electronics, where high sensitivity due to biological circuits is combined with accurate computing due to silicon based circuits.Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of the proposed multi-array biosensor will be in the area of medical diagnostics and homeland security applications where rapid reliable detection of pathogenic organisms in biological samples is critical. Integrating the biosensor with silicon chips could lead to disposable smart biosensor tags that can be used in ubiquitous sensing. The multi-disciplinary nature of this proposal will present an ideal avenue to train undergraduate and graduate students in the area of bio-systems and electrical engineering. Elements of the proposed project will be used to develop new teaching materials in the area of bio-electronics and integrated into classroom teaching.